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Contemporary Abstract Prints

CONTEMPORARY STYLE

Used to refer to a time rather than an aesthetic, Contemporary art generally describes pieces created after 1970 or being made by living artists anywhere in the world. This immediacy means it encompasses art responding to the present moment through diverse subjects, media and themes. Contemporary painting, sculpture, photography, performance, digital art, video and more frequently includes work that is attempting to reshape current ideas about what art can be, from Felix Gonzalez-Torres’s use of candy to memorialize a lover he lost to AIDS-related complications to Jenny Holzer’s ongoing “Truisms,” a Conceptual series that sees provocative messages printed on billboards, T-shirts, benches and other public places that exist outside of formal exhibitions and the conventional “white cube” of galleries.

Contemporary art has been pushing the boundaries of creative expression for years. Its disruption of the traditional concepts of art are often aiming to engage viewers in complex questions about identity, society and culture. In the latter part of the 20th century, contemporary movements included Land art, in which artists like Robert Smithson and Michael Heizer create large-scale, site-specific sculptures, installations and other works in soil and bodies of water; Sound art, with artists such as Christian Marclay and Susan Philipsz centering art on sonic experiences; and New Media art, in which mass media and digital culture inform the work of artists such as Nam June Paik and Rafaël Rozendaal.

The first decades of the 21st century have seen the growth of Contemporary African art, the revival of figurative painting, the emergence of street art and the rise of NFTs, unique digital artworks that are powered by blockchain technology.

Major Contemporary artists practicing now include Ai Weiwei, Cecily Brown, David Hockney, Yayoi Kusama, Jeff Koons, Takashi Murakami and Kara Walker.

Find a collection of Contemporary prints, photography, paintings, sculptures and other art on 1stDibs.

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Style: Contemporary
U.S.A. Airline Routes
Located in Calabasas, CA
Artist: Paula Scher Title: U.S.A. Airline Routes Year: 2020 Medium: Digital pigment print in colors on wove paper Sheet: 43 3/4 × 60 in (111.1 × 152.4 cm) Edition: 90; signed, number...
Category

2010s Contemporary Abstract Prints

Materials

Archival Pigment

Pilot 22 - Contemporary Abstract Monotype Blue Yellow Coral Circles Stars, 2001
Located in Kent, CT
In this geometric abstract monotype on paper, colored shapes complement a background that transitions from pale yellow to sky blue. A pointed star shape in dark navy contrasts circul...
Category

Early 2000s Contemporary Abstract Prints

Materials

Archival Paper, Monotype

H2O l - large format photograph of sun reflections on pool water surface
Located in San Francisco, CA
mesmerizing light reflections of glistening sunlight on turquoise aquamarine water surface, an homage to the iconic pool reflections paintings by artist David Hockney H2O by Erik Pa...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Abstract Prints

Materials

Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, Plexiglass, Archival Ink, Giclée, Ar...

Coral Reef - large format photograph of sun reflections on a coral reef
Located in San Francisco, CA
large format photograph of sun reflections on a coral reef water surface, mesmerizing light reflections of glistening sunlight on turquoise aquamarine water surface, an homage to the...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Abstract Prints

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, Giclée, Archival Pigment

Ex Uno Plures Eight - Contemporary Geological Neon Yellow Magenta Monotype, 2020
Located in Kent, CT
Laura Moriarty's Ex Uno Plures 8 is a multicolored encaustic monotype on kozo paper. Layers of pigmented beeswax on lightweight paper create an undulating composition suggesting laye...
Category

2010s Contemporary Abstract Prints

Materials

Encaustic, Archival Paper, Monotype

Welcome. XIV Olympic Winter Games, Sarajevo - Original Poster - 1983
Located in Roma, IT
Welcome. XIV Olympic Winter Games, Sarajevo  is a vintage poster realized by the artist Howard Hodgkin, in occasion of the XIV Winter Olympics games in Sarajevo, in 1984.  Very good...
Category

1980s Contemporary Abstract Prints

Materials

Paper

Gulls Landing, Limited edition art print, Landscape, Nature
Located in Deddington, GB
I love the busy swirl of gulls around a harbour. It makes for a challenging composition and offers a chance to play with light and colour. I have tried to capture movement and a harb...
Category

2010s Contemporary Abstract Prints

Materials

Paper, Linocut

H2O V - large format photograph of sun reflections on pool water surface
Located in San Francisco, CA
mesmerizing light reflections of glistening sunlight on turquoise aquamarine water surface, an homage to the iconic pool reflections paintings by artist David Hockney H2O V by Erik ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Abstract Prints

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, Giclée, Archival Pigment

Cannizaro H4-4 Damien Hirst Contemporary Art Diasec-mounted Giclée Print Street
Located in Draper, UT
Damien Hirst Cannizaro H4-4 Diasec-mounted Giclée print on aluminium panel 920 x 1260 MM Edition size: 75 + 5 AP signed and numbered from an edition of 75 verso, published by HENI Editions; sheet: 92 x 126cm Damien Hirst first came to public attention in London in 1988 when he conceived and curated "Freeze," an exhibition in a disused warehouse that showed his work and that of his friends and fellow students at Goldsmiths College. In the nearly quarter of a century since that pivotal show (which would come to define the Young British Artists), Hirst has become one of the most influential artists of his generation. His groundbreaking works include The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living (1991), a shark in formaldehyde; Mother and Child Divided (1993) a four-part sculpture of a bisected cow and calf; and For the Love of God (2007), a human skull studded with 8,601 diamonds. In addition to his installations and sculptures, Hirst’s Spot paintings...
Category

2010s Contemporary Abstract Prints

Materials

Metal

Untitled (Elongated Triangles 1)
Located in Bristol, GB
Colour serigraph on paper Edition 21 of 75 102.1 x 42.5 cm (40.2 x 16.7 in) Signed, numbered and dated on the front Condition upon request
Category

20th Century Contemporary Abstract Prints

Materials

Screen

Wu Zetian (H10-1) from The Empresses
Located in Calabasas, CA
Wu Zetian (H10-1) from The Empresses, 2022 From an edition of 2853 (1569 NFTs, 1284 physical prints) Laminated Giclée print on aluminium composite panel, screen printed with glitter ...
Category

2010s Contemporary Abstract Prints

Materials

Giclée

Abstract Composition - Cow - Etching by Fausto Maria Franchi - 2013
Located in Roma, IT
Etching realized by Fausto Maria Franchi in 2013. Edition of 55/200. Hand signed and numbered in pencil. Excellent condition.
Category

2010s Contemporary Abstract Prints

Materials

Etching

Condo, Parallel Figures, Drawing Paintings (after)
Located in Southampton, NY
Four color process print on vélin paper. Paper size: 10.75 x 18.5 inches, with centerfold, as issued. Inscription: Unsigned and unnumbered, as issued. Notes: From the folio, George C...
Category

2010s Contemporary Abstract Prints

Materials

Archival Pigment

Silver Gem, Limited Edition Print, Contemporary Art
Located in Deddington, GB
This multi-coloured Gemstone is hand-printed in florescent Yellow, Blue and metallic Silver ink. Then finished off by hand drawing over the print with multi-coloured paint. The Silve...
Category

2010s Contemporary Abstract Prints

Materials

Paper, Screen

Indian Leaves
Located in London, GB
Indian Leaves Lithograph print on Japanese Gampi Torinoko paper Limited edition of 500 (Roman) and 500 (Arabic) 23 x 76.3 cm Stamp-signed and accompanied by a certificate of authenti...
Category

2010s Contemporary Abstract Prints

Materials

Lithograph

La Grenouille et la Scie (large)
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Reproduction of Alexander Calder's lithograph "La Grenouille et la Scie" ("The Frog and the Saw"), showcases his signature abstract style, employing bold colors and geometric shapes...
Category

1970s Contemporary Abstract Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Pyzinerol
By Rex Ray
Located in Lyons, CO
Color lithograph, Edition 30 In 2010, Ray made his first lithographs at Shark’s Ink., Pyzinerol and Pyzinerol II. Ambitious prints with 18 colors from 15...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Abstract Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Forms in Space
Located in Miami, FL
Hand signed rf Lichtenstein, numbered and dated '85 in pencil lower right. Printed by Studio Henrici, New York. Published by the artist, for the Institute of Contemporary Art, Univer...
Category

1980s Contemporary Abstract Prints

Materials

Screen

H2O I - large format abstract photograph of sun reflection on pool water surface
Located in San Francisco, CA
mesmerizing light reflections of glistening sunlight on turquoise aquamarine water surface, an homage to the iconic pool reflections paintings by artist David Hockney H2O l by Erik ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Abstract Prints

Materials

Photographic Paper, Archival Pigment, Archival Paper, Giclée

rare Maeght sculpted holiday card 1968 - collectors item mid century modern art
Located in New York, NY
Alexander Calder rare Maeght sculpted holiday card, 1968 Hand made sculpted paper collage on paper with embossing Embossed artist's monogram 10 × 7 × 6 1/2 inches This rare, fold-ou...
Category

1960s Contemporary Abstract Prints

Materials

Paper, Mixed Media, Laid Paper, Lithograph, Offset

Girls. Figurative limited edition etching, Surrealist, Nude, Polish art
Located in Warsaw, PL
Figurative surreal etching print with watercolor by Polish artist Leszek Rozga. Artwork depicts several portraits in different styles. Artwork is signed by the artist, it comes from ...
Category

2010s Contemporary Abstract Prints

Materials

Paper, Watercolor, Etching

KAWS, Alone Again, 2018, Screenprint in colours on wove paper, Edition of 100
By KAWS
Located in Bristol, GB
Screenprint in colours on wove paper Edition 55 of 100 81.3 x 135.3 cm (32 x 53.2 in) Signed and numbered on the front Mint Published by Pace Prints
Category

2010s Contemporary Abstract Prints

Materials

Screen

H2O VI - large format photograph of sun reflections - Homage to David Hockney
Located in San Francisco, CA
large format Panorama photograph of sun reflections on pool water surface, mesmerizing light reflections of glistening sunlight on turquoise aquamarine water surface, an homage to th...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Abstract Prints

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, Giclée, Archival Pigment

Evening Singers, limited edition color lithograph, kachinas, katsina, Hopi, red
Located in Santa Fe, NM
Evening Singers, limited edition color lithograph, kachinas, katsina, Hopi, red signed, titled, and numbered by the artist at the bottom limited edition of 50 unframed The Galle...
Category

1980s Contemporary Abstract Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Silk and Stone 24 - Geometric Abstract Monotype on Asian Paper, 2016
Located in Kent, CT
Geometric abstract monotype print by David Collins on Asian paper, a unique print with no other editions. Geometric shapes in navy, coral and light blue are layered on a background t...
Category

2010s Contemporary Abstract Prints

Materials

Archival Paper, Monotype

Welcome. XIV Olympic Winter Games, Sarajevo - Vintage Poster - 1983
Located in Roma, IT
Welcome. XIV Olympic Winter Games, Sarajevo is a vintage poster realized by the artist Howard Hodgkin, in occasion of the XIV Winter Olympics games in Sarajevo, in 1984. Very good ...
Category

1980s Contemporary Abstract Prints

Materials

Paper

Amsterdam IX ed 28/50 black-white canal house facade aquatint etch print
Located in Doetinchem, NL
Amsterdam IX is an intriguing early career aquatint dry-needle etch print by renowned French-Dutch artist Olivier Julia. It depicts a detail of an old Amsterdam house facade and is b...
Category

1980s Contemporary Abstract Prints

Materials

Rag Paper, Etching, Aquatint

Love By Robert Indiana
Located in London, GB
Love By Robert Indiana Robert Indiana (1928–2018) was an American artist known for his bold, typographic pop art, particularly his iconic "LOVE" sculpture and print. His work ofte...
Category

1990s Contemporary Abstract Prints

Materials

Paper, Screen

Keith Haring Rain Dance 1985 (Keith Haring posters)
Located in NEW YORK, NY
Keith Haring Rain Dance 1985: RARE original 1980s Keith Haring illustrated poster announcement for a legendary Keith Haring UNICEF benefit party at Larry Levan’s Paradise Garage in 1985. An event organized & curated by Keith Haring; with cohosts including Jean-Michel Basquiat, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein & more. A event organized by Haring on behalf of UNICEF’s African Emergency Relief Fund. Beautifully combines Haring’s trademark kinetic figures set amidst a standout blue and black color-way. Rare. Medium: Offset lithograph in colors on smooth wove paper. 1985. Dimensions: 8.5 x 11 inches (folded open). Fair overall vintage condition. Minor wear to center fold-line; minor separation to the mid far-left edge; surface loss lower left. Otherwise well-preserved. Printed signature, ‘Keith Haring 1985’ on lower right from a scarce edition of unknown. Looks fantastic framed. More on Keith Haring Rain Dance: Curated and organized by Keith Haring, Rain Dance was a 1985 benefit for UNICEF’s African Emergency Relief Fund. Participating artists famously included: Jean-Michel Basquiat, Larry Levan, Fred Brathwaite, Christo, Francesco Clemente, George Condo, Crash, Futura 2000, Jenny Holzer, John Lennon, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Mapplethorpe, Brice Marden, Robert Morris, Yoko Ono, Lee Quiñones, Robert Rauschenberg, Kenny Scharf, Julian Schnabel, Richard Serra, Cindy Sherman, Tseng Kwong Chi, and Andy Warhol. _ Keith Haring (American, 1958–1990), a Neo-Pop and Graffiti artist, had a short but prolific career centered on a vision to unite “high art,” urban aesthetics, and public spaces using humorous, irreverent, and poignant works. Born in Pennsylvania, Haring attended the Ivy School of Art in Pittsburgh for two years, planning to become a commercial artist. He found this path unsatisfying, and instead chose to study at the School of Visual Arts in New York, where he met fellow artists Jean Michel Basquiat and Kenny Scharf. Haring immersed himself in the culture of the city’s streets and clubs, and, in 1980, began covering the blank billboards on subway station walls with his Subway drawings in chalk. Haring’s bold public art attracted the attention of several galleries, and, by the early 1980s, he was painting Neo-Pop works and large murals full time. In an effort to make his art widely accessible, Haring opened the Pop Shop in 1986 in downtown New York, selling commercial items adorned with his signature, cartoonish imagery. Haring combined graffiti, hip-hop, and urban aesthetics, frequently depicting animals, figures, commercial icons, sexual imagery, and childlike motifs in pieces that were both playful and concerned with social issues. His work became increasingly confrontational following his 1987 diagnosis of AIDS. Haring resolved to work harder than ever in his remaining years, creating pieces with a fervent speed and devoting his art to social action in addition to his personal expression. In 1989, he established the Keith Haring Foundation, whose goal is to promote art programs and public spaces for children, and to raise awareness about AIDS. Haring died on February 16, 1990 in New York at the age of 31. In addition to hundreds of exhibitions held during his lifetime, Haring has been the subject of numerous retrospectives in New York, San Francisco, Paris, Tokyo, Los Angeles and Berlin since his death. Related Categories: Keith Haring posters. Keith Haring activist poster. Keith Haring Dancers. Street art. Graffiti. 1980s. Keith Haring Larry Levan. Keith Haring Paradise Garage...
Category

1980s Contemporary Abstract Prints

Materials

Offset, Lithograph

Joseph Beuys, Aufbau - Signed Print, 1977, Conceptual Art, Fluxus, Modern Art
Located in Hamburg, DE
Joseph Beuys (German, 1921-1986) Title: Aufbau, 1977 Medium: Offset on grey cardboard, stamped Dimensions: 30.5 x 43 cm Edition of 100: Hand-signed and numbered in pencil Publisher: ...
Category

20th Century Contemporary Abstract Prints

Materials

Offset

"The Bighorn at Night, " a Woodcut, Signed
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"The Bighorn at Night" is an original woodcut signed and titled by the artist, Carol Summers. It is edition 48/50. Catalogue raisonné listing: cat. 105...
Category

1970s Contemporary Abstract Prints

Materials

Woodcut

Dangerous Liaisons: Yellow, red, Tiffany blue abstract print with poetry
Located in New York, NY
Touched by the influence of Andy Warhol, champion of a young Jean-Michel Basquiat, Rene Ricard served as enfant terrible of the 1980s New York art scene. In this abstract painted composition, Ricard combines expressive poetry with vibrant color. A bright yellow forms the background for two rounded rectangles printed...
Category

1990s Contemporary Abstract Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Takashi Murakami Sea Breeze-Chan Pop Art, Limited Edition
Located in Draper, UT
One of the most acclaimed artists to emerge from post-war Asia, Takashi Murakami is known for his signature “Superflat” aesthetic: a colorful, two-dimensional style that straddles th...
Category

2010s Contemporary Abstract Prints

Materials

Screen

Condo, Full Sweep, Drawing Paintings (after)
Located in Southampton, NY
Four color process print on vélin paper. Paper size: 10.75 x 9.25 inches. Inscription: Unsigned and unnumbered, as issued. Notes: From the folio, George Condo, Drawing Paintings, 201...
Category

2010s Contemporary Abstract Prints

Materials

Archival Pigment

Untitled
Located in New York, NY
Jasper Johns Untitled 2010 Intaglio on Revere Standard White 19 x 21 1/2 inches 48 x 55 cm Edition of 50 Signed, dated, and numbered in graphite (lower recto) Frame available upon request Available from Matthew Marks Gallery...
Category

2010s Contemporary Abstract Prints

Materials

Intaglio, Etching

Untitled (Rose, Pink, Abstract, Gestural, Movement) (30% OFF LIST PRICE)
Located in Kansas City, MO
Barry Eisenhart Untitled (Rose, Pink, Abstract, Gestural, Movement) Year: 2015 Lithograph on Arches Edition of 15 Size: 19 x 25 inches Signed in pencil COA provided
Category

2010s Contemporary Abstract Prints

Materials

Lithograph

1960's Alexander Calder lithographic cover Derrière le miroir
Located in NEW YORK, NY
Alexander Calder Lithographic cover c. 1968 from Derrière le miroir: Lithograph in colors; 11 x 15 inches. Very good overall vintage condition. Unsigned from an edition of unknown with crisp bright colors. Published by: Galerie Maeght, Paris, c. 1968. Unsigned from an edition of unknown. Looks fantastic framed. Derrière le miroir: In October 1945 the French art dealer Aimé Maeght opens his art gallery at 13 Rue de Téhéran in Paris. His beginning coincides with the end of Second World War and the return of a number of exiled artists back to France. The publication was created in October 1946 (n°1) and published without interruption until 1982 (n°253). Its original articles and illustrations (mainly original color lithographs by the gallery artists) who were famous at the time. The lithographic publication covered only the artists exhibited by Maeght gallery either through personal or group exhibitions. Among them were, Pierre Alechinsky, Francis Bacon, Alexander Calder, Marc Chagall, Eduardo Chillida, Alberto Giacometti, Vassily Kandinsky, Ellsworth Kelly, Fernand Léger, Henri Matisse, Joan Miró, Saul Steinberg and Antoni Tapies. Related Categories: Mid century modern. Alexander Calder prints. Calder orange. Calder red...
Category

1960s Contemporary Abstract Prints

Materials

Lithograph

HOPES FOR PEACE Signed Lithograph Abstract Dove, Airbrush Colors, Spanish Artist
Located in Union City, NJ
HOPES FOR PEACE is a handmade color lithograph by the internationally recognized Spanish artist Cristóbal Gabarrón printed on archival Arches printmaking paper in 1986. HOPES FOR PEACE is an imaginative composition depicting an abstract bird expressed in airbrush colors as a dove symbolizing world peace. HOPES FOR PEACE is a visually appealing handmade lithograph printed in soft rainbow shades of purple, yellow, magenta pink, blue green, beige, light orange, gray and black. Print size - 11.0" x 8.5" unframed, vivid colors, excellent condition, hand signed and numbered in pencil by Cristóbal Gabarrón Edition size - 500, Certificate of Authenticity included Cristóbal Gabarrón - HOPES FOR PEACE was specially commissioned by The World Federation of UN Associations (WFUNA) in 1986 - the International Year of Peace. Operating within the framework of the theme, "To Safeguard Peace and the Future of Humanity", the program for this special year was composed of the three primary components: Peace and Disarmament, Peace and Development and Preparation for Life in Peace. Cristóbal Gabarrón is a celebrated Spanish artist known for his work with the United Nations whose personal convictions are based on the individual human life, and the coexistence and the development of human values. Artist statement: “There is nothing as pure and innocent as a child’s creative imagination. Children are the future of our societies. We learn a lot from each other when interacting across generations and cultures on such issues that bind us together, such as human rights,” Artist bio - Cristóbal Gabarrón was born in the town of Mula (Murcia) in 1945, although at the age of six he moved with his family to live in Valladolid. He dedicated himself to painting from a very young age performing his first exhibitions, at the Galería Castilla de Valladolid and at the Galería Macarrón in Madrid. His work evolved from figuration to informalism, to the abstracción "symbolic and "postmodern," a "symbolic." In 1967, at the age of 22, Gabarrón exhibited at the Leob Gallery in New York and the Arts Perspective Gallery in Paris. His work has been marked by his life experience, humanism and his nomadic personality, which give him a unique, very personal style. A creation in continuous experimentation and evolution with strokes from its multiple rooms and exhibitions in different parts of the world. He currently resides between Bueu, on the Ria de Pontevedra and Valladolid, although he continues to be connected to his place of origin, the city of Mula. He received his first artistic training in Valladolid before continuing his career in France, Italy and the United States. Gabarrón's work is focused on his interest in humanism, for people's lives in harmony with their natural environment, for their peaceful coexistence and the development of human values. Their collaboration with international organizations, such as the International Olympic Committee or the United Nations, has led to a very fruitful period that lasts, following the exhibition of the Universe of Light (Enlightened Universe) inaugurated on 24 October 2015 at the famous Central Park in New York, by the UN Secretary General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon on the 70th Anniversary of the creation of the United Nations and which every year travels cities from all over the world, to commemorate UN and Human Rights Day: Geneva (2016), Amsterdam (2017), Brussels (2018), Valladolid (2020), La Valeta (2022). His work has been the same center of analysis within retrospectives such as those dedicated to the Chelsea Art Museum, the IVAM, the Museum of Modern Art of Gdansk, in Poland, the National Museum of Art of China in Shanghai, or the Herrerian Patio Museum of Contemporary Spanish Art...
Category

1980s Contemporary Abstract Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Big Seascape XII Left - Ocean Waves Woodcut Print in Shades of Blue, 2015
Located in Kent, CT
This contemporary woodcut print on paper evokes the peacefulness of ocean waves depicted in bright, cerulean blue and vibrant cobalt. The woodcut print brings to mind the tradition o...
Category

2010s Contemporary Abstract Prints

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Woodcut

Inside the Rainbow's Heart - Pop Art Japanese Flowers Colours
Located in London, GB
Edition of 300. Murakami signed and numbered in silver marker pen along the lower right edge. Offset lithograph with cold foil stamp and high gloss varnishing on UV paper—diameter si...
Category

2010s Contemporary Abstract Prints

Materials

Offset

Nine Pointed Stars, Colors
Located in Greenwich, CT
With Nine Pointed Stars, the most complex of the “Pointed Star” series executed in 1996, Lewitt employs his trademark systematic use of grids, geometric shapes, and precise mathemati...
Category

1990s Contemporary Abstract Prints

Materials

Handmade Paper

Tripartite Composition - Original Etching by Cesare Peverelli - 1973
Located in Roma, IT
Image dimensions: 23.5 x 17.5 cm Tripartite composition is an original black and white aquatint, chalcography and etching on paper, realized by the Italian artist Cesare Peverelli (...
Category

1970s Contemporary Abstract Prints

Materials

Etching

Time traveller (sequence from a volatile now)
By Mathias Bitzer
Located in Brooklyn, NY
This original exhibition invitation for Matthias Bitzer: Sequences From A Volatile Now at Almine Rech Gallery, London, held from April 17 to May 19, 2018, is a beautifully designed c...
Category

2010s Contemporary Abstract Prints

Materials

Offset

"Pura Vida" original color woodcut print signed by Carol Summers
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"Pura Vida" is an original color woodcut signed by Carol Summers. A multi-colored piece shows a waterfall with red flames behind it in the middle of the piece. On the left stands a tree with yellow leaves on a hill. To the right is a rainbow. This is an excellent example of Summer's printmaking, not just because of the technique and imagery, but because it numbered 1 of the edition of 125. In addition, it contains a personal inscription to the Milwaukee gallerist David Barnett, who has championed the work of Summers and produced catalogs of his work. Indeed, this print appears as no. 189 in the David Barnett Gallery's 1988 catalogue raisonné of Summer's woodcuts. Feel free to inquire if you would like to purchase a copy of the catalogue raisonné along with your Carol Summers print. Art: 24.25 x 24.75 in Frame: 36 x 35 in signed lower right titled and inscribed to David [Barnett] lower right edition (1/125) lower right Carol Summers (1925-2016) has worked as an artist throughout the second half of the 20th century and into the first years of the next, outliving most of his mid-century modernist peers. Initially trained as a painter, Summers was drawn to color woodcuts around 1950 and it became his specialty thereafter. Over the years he has developed a process and style that is both innovative and readily recognizable. His art is known for it’s large scale, saturated fields of bold color, semi-abstract treatment of landscapes from around the world and a luminescent quality achieved through a printmaking process he invented. In a career that has extended over half a century, Summers has hand-pulled approximately 245 woodcuts in editions that have typically run from 25 to 100 in number. His talent was both inherited and learned. Born in 1925 in Kingston, a small town in upstate New York, Summers was raised in nearby Woodstock with his older sister, Mary. His parents were both artists who had met in art school in St. Louis. During the Great Depression, when Carol was growing up, his father supported the family as a medical illustrator until he could return to painting. His mother was a watercolorist and also quite knowledgeable about the different kinds of papers used for various kinds of painting. Many years later, Summers would paint or print on thinly textured paper originally collected by his mother. From 1948 to 1951, Carol Summers trained in the classical fine and studio arts at Bard College and at the Art Students League of New York. He studied painting with Steven Hirsh and printmaking with Louis Schanker. He admired the shapes and colors favored by early modernists Paul Klee (Sw: 1879-1940) and Matt Phillips (Am: b.1927- ). After graduating, Summers quit working as a part-time carpenter and cabinetmaker (which had supported his schooling and living expenses) to focus fulltime on art. That same year, an early abstract, Bridge No. 1 was selected for a Purchase Prize in a competition sponsored by the Brooklyn Museum. In 1952, his work (Cathedral, Construction and Icarus) was shown the first time at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City in an exhibition of American woodcuts. In 1954, Summers received a grant from the Italian government to study for a year in Italy. Woodcuts completed soon after his arrival there were almost all editions of only 8 to 25 prints, small in size, architectural in content and black and white in color. The most well-known are Siennese Landscape and Little Landscape, which depicted the area near where he resided. Summers extended this trip three more years, a decision which would have significant impact on choices of subject matter and color in the coming decade. After returning from Europe, Summers’ images continued to feature historical landmarks and events from Italy as well as from France, Spain and Greece. However, as evidenced in Aetna’s Dream, Worldwind and Arch of Triumph, a new look prevailed. These woodcuts were larger in size and in color. Some incorporated metal leaf in the creation of a collage and Summers even experimented with silkscreening. Editions were now between 20 and 50 prints in number. Most importantly, Summers employed his rubbing technique for the first time in the creation of Fantastic Garden in late 1957. Dark Vision of Xerxes, a benchmark for Summers, was the first woodcut where Summers experimented using mineral spirits as part of his printmaking process. A Fulbright Grant as well as Fellowships from the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation and the Guggenheim Foundation followed soon thereafter, as did faculty positions at colleges and universities primarily in New York and Pennsylvania. During this period he married a dancer named Elaine Smithers with whom he had one son, Kyle. Around this same time, along with fellow artist Leonard Baskin, Summers pioneered what is now referred to as the “monumental” woodcut. This term was coined in the early 1960s to denote woodcuts that were dramatically bigger than those previously created in earlier years, ones that were limited in size mostly by the size of small hand-presses. While Baskin chose figurative subject matter, serious in nature and rendered with thick, striated lines, Summers rendered much less somber images preferring to emphasize shape and color; his subject matter approached abstraction but was always firmly rooted in the landscape. In addition to working in this new, larger scale, Summers simultaneously refined a printmaking process which would eventually be called the “Carol Summers Method” or the “ Carol Summers Technique”. Summers produces his woodcuts by hand, usually from one or more blocks of quarter-inch pine, using oil-based printing inks and porous mulberry papers. His woodcuts reveal a sensitivity to wood especially its absorptive qualities and the subtleties of the grain. In several of his woodcuts throughout his career he has used the undulating, grainy patterns of a large wood plank to portray a flowing river or tumbling waterfall. The best examples of this are Dream, done in 1965 and the later Flash Flood Escalante, in 2003. In the majority of his woodcuts, Summers makes the blocks slightly larger than the paper so the image and color will bleed off the edge. Before printing, he centers a dry sheet of paper over the top of the cut wood block or blocks, securing it with giant clips. Then he rolls the ink directly on the front of the sheet of paper and pressing down onto the dry wood block or reassembled group of blocks. Summers is technically very proficient; the inks are thoroughly saturated onto the surface of the paper but they do not run into each other. The precision of the color inking in Constantine’s Dream in 1969 and Rainbow Glacier in 1970 has been referred to in various studio handbooks. Summers refers to his own printing technique as “rubbing”. In traditional woodcut printing, including the Japanese method, the ink is applied directly onto the block. However, by following his own method, Summers has avoided the mirror-reversed image of a conventional print and it has given him the control over the precise amount of ink that he wants on the paper. After the ink is applied to the front of the paper, Summers sprays it with mineral spirits, which act as a thinning agent. The absorptive fibers of the paper draw the thinned ink away from the surface softening the shapes and diffusing and muting the colors. This produces a unique glow that is a hallmark of the Summers printmaking technique. Unlike the works of other color field artists or modernists of the time, this new technique made Summers’ extreme simplification and flat color areas anything but hard-edged or coldly impersonal. By the 1960s, Summers had developed a personal way of coloring and printing and was not afraid of hard work, doing the cutting, inking and pulling himself. In 1964, at the age of 38, Summers’ work was exhibited for a second time at the Museum of Modern Art. This time his work was featured in a one-man show and then as one of MOMA’s two-year traveling exhibitions which toured throughout the United States. In subsequent years, Summers’ works would be exhibited and acquired for the permanent collections of multiple museums throughout the United States, Europe and Asia. Summers’ familiarity with landscapes throughout the world is firsthand. As a navigator-bombardier in the Marines in World War II, he toured the South Pacific and Asia. Following college, travel in Europe and subsequent teaching positions, in 1972, after 47 years on the East Coast, Carol Summers moved permanently to Bonny Doon in the Santa Cruz Mountains in Northern California. There met his second wife, Joan Ward Toth, a textile artist who died in 1998; and it was here his second son, Ethan was born. During the years that followed this relocation, Summers’ choice of subject matter became more diverse although it retained the positive, mostly life-affirming quality that had existed from the beginning. Images now included moons, comets, both sunny and starry skies, hearts and flowers, all of which, in one way or another, remained tied to the landscape. In the 1980s, from his home and studio in the Santa Cruz mountains, Summers continued to work as an artist supplementing his income by conducting classes and workshops at universities in California and Oregon as well as throughout the Mid and Southwest. He also traveled extensively during this period hiking and camping, often for weeks at a time, throughout the western United States and Canada. Throughout the decade it was not unusual for Summers to backpack alone or with a fellow artist into mountains or back country for six weeks or more at a time. Not surprisingly, the artwork created during this period rarely departed from images of the land, sea and sky. Summers rendered these landscapes in a more representational style than before, however he always kept them somewhat abstract by mixing geometric shapes with organic shapes, irregular in outline. Some of his most critically acknowledged work was created during this period including First Rain, 1985 and The Rolling Sea, 1989. Summers received an honorary doctorate from his alma mater, Bard College in 1979 and was selected by the United States Information Agency to spend a year conducting painting and printmaking workshops at universities throughout India. Since that original sabbatical, he has returned every year, spending four to eight weeks traveling throughout that country. In the 1990s, interspersed with these journeys to India have been additional treks to the back roads and high country areas of Mexico, Central America, Nepal, China and Japan. Travel to these exotic and faraway places had a profound influence on Summers’ art. Subject matter became more worldly and nonwestern as with From Humla to Dolpo, 1991 or A Former Life of Budha, 1996, for example. Architectural images, such as The Pillars of Hercules, 1990 or The Raja’s Aviary, 1992 became more common. Still life images made a reappearance with Jungle Bouquet in 1997. This was also a period when Summers began using odd-sized paper to further the impact of an image. The 1996 Night, a view of the earth and horizon as it might be seen by an astronaut, is over six feet long and only slightly more than a foot-and-a-half high. From 1999, Revuelta A Vida (Spanish for “Return to Life”) is pie-shaped and covers nearly 18 cubic feet. It was also at this juncture that Summers began to experiment with a somewhat different palette although he retained his love of saturated colors. The 2003 Far Side of Time is a superb example of the new direction taken by this colorist. At the turn of the millennium in 1999, “Carol Summers Woodcuts...
Category

1980s Contemporary Abstract Prints

Materials

Woodcut

Affiche no.87 - 1964 - Eduardo Chillida - Lithograph - Contemporary
Located in Roma, IT
Affiche n°87 is a beautiful lithograph realized by Eduardo Chillida in 1964. Hand-signed and numbered by the artist on the lower left in pencil. Edition 11/25.Editions Maeght, Pari...
Category

1960s Contemporary Abstract Prints

Materials

Lithograph

December 2020 A
Located in Bristol, GB
Diasec-mounted Giclée print on aluminium composite panel Edition of 25 42 x 60 cm (16.5 x 23.6 in) Signed and numbered 20/25 on a label affixed to the back After original ink drawing...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Abstract Prints

Materials

Polymer, Giclée

"This Must Be the Place VE 5/7" Intaglio, hand colored, patterns
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This piece titled "This Must Be the Place VE 5/7" is a variable edition piece by Kate VanVliet and is made from Intaglio with soft ground on Rives BFK. This piece is an edition of 7 ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Abstract Prints

Materials

Archival Paper, Color, Etching, Intaglio

Flowering Angel
Located in Washington, DC
Artist: Peter Max Title: Flowering Angel Medium: Screen print in colors Date: 1976 Edition: 27/100 Sheet Size: 30" x 23" Frame Size: 37" x 30" Signature: Hand signed in pencil Price ...
Category

1970s Contemporary Abstract Prints

Materials

Screen

HARBORLIGHTS MUSIC FESTIVAL 1981 Rare Vintage Art Poster Abstract Jazz Musicians
Located in Union City, NJ
ROMARE BEARDEN 1970-1980 HARBORLIGHTS MUSIC FESTIVAL 1981 OUT CHORUS Music Event Poster reproduced from Bearden's original color monoprint entitled "OUT CHORUS" Music Festival took...
Category

1980s Contemporary Abstract Prints

Materials

Offset

Red Room (Parents) detail, coveted limited edition double sided pillowcase art
Located in New York, NY
Louise Bourgeois Red Room (Parents) detail (double sided work), 2009 Screenprint and embroidery on two sided pillowcase with plate signature, artist's copyright and printed name 21 ×...
Category

Early 2000s Contemporary Abstract Prints

Materials

Textile, Screen

Contrails and Slipstream 36 - Horizontal Geometric Abstract Monotype, 2003
Located in Kent, CT
In this black and white monotype on rice paper, geometric shapes complement a monochromatic background that transitions through a grayscale from gray at the bottom to pale gray, almo...
Category

Early 2000s Contemporary Abstract Prints

Materials

Rice Paper, Monotype

The Lake
Located in New Orleans, LA
German artist Udo Claassen created a dramatic landscape of this Icelandic scene in 1985 in an edition of 40. This is #33. Claassen was born in Itzehoe in the state of Schleswig-Hol...
Category

Late 20th Century Contemporary Abstract Prints

Materials

Mezzotint

"Caelestinus, " Framed Limited Edition Giclee Print, 48" x 48"
Located in Westport, CT
This abstract contemporary limited edition print by Roger Mudre features a cool-toned palette with subtle gold accents. Concentric circles of varying sizes overlap one another to cre...
Category

2010s Contemporary Abstract Prints

Materials

Digital, Giclée

Untitled (Amber) - large scale photographic details of baroque Italian palazzo
Located in San Francisco, CA
large scale abstract photograph of mesmerizing monochromatic color space and tactile marble stone and velvet textures captured in Roman palazzo Untiltled (Amber) by Frank Schott 72...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Abstract Prints

Materials

Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, Giclée

"said the zinnia", Abstract, Collaged Monoprints, Watercolor, Botanicals
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This piece titled "said the zinnia" is an original piece by Cassie Normandy White and is made from fabric monotypes and ink. This diptych piece m...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Abstract Prints

Materials

Fabric, Ink, Monotype

Los Angeles 1984 Olympic Games (Hand Signed with Olympic Committee COA), 1982
Located in New York, NY
Jennifer Bartlett Los Angeles 1984 Olympic Games (Hand Signed with Olympic Committee COA), 1982 Offset Lithograph; pencil signed on the front 36 × 24 inc...
Category

1980s Contemporary Abstract Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Condo, Figure Change, Drawing Paintings (after)
Located in Southampton, NY
Four color process print on vélin paper. Paper size: 10.75 x 9.25 inches. Inscription: Unsigned and unnumbered, as issued. Notes: From the folio, George Condo, Drawing Paintings, 201...
Category

2010s Contemporary Abstract Prints

Materials

Archival Pigment

Stratosphere I - large format photograph of abstract liquid water cloudscapes
Located in San Francisco, CA
large scale photography of mesmerizing color compositions of liquid cloudscape painting in water, hypnotizing abstract liquidscapes from the bo...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Abstract Prints

Materials

Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, Archival Pigment, Giclée

Flowers
Located in Llanbrynmair, GB
’Flowers’ By Jamie Boyd Medium - Lithograph Edition - AP Signed - Yes Size - 635mm x 870mm Date - c1975 Condition - Very good. 9 out of 10. Colour of print may not be accurate when...
Category

1970s Contemporary Abstract Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Flowers
Flowers
$440 Sale Price
20% Off
Red Lantern Flowers 2025
Located in Fairfield, CT
Color silkscreen with enamel inks and tar-like texture on Rising 2-ply museum board Portfolio of 8: $16,000
Category

2010s Contemporary Abstract Prints

Materials

Ink, Board, Screen

Contemporary abstract prints for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Contemporary abstract prints available for sale on 1stDibs. Works in this style were very popular during the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artists have continued to produce works inspired by this movement. If you’re looking to add abstract prints created in this style to introduce contrast in an otherwise neutral space in your home, the works available on 1stDibs include elements of blue, purple, red, orange and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Roger Mudre, Rafael Alberti, Johanna Goodman, and Leo Guida. Frequently made by artists working with Paper, and Lithograph and other materials, all of these pieces for sale are unique and have attracted attention over the years. Not every interior allows for large Contemporary abstract prints, so small editions measuring 0.02 inches across are also available. Prices for abstract prints made by famous or emerging artists can differ depending on medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $50 and tops out at $195,622, while the average work sells for $1,000.

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